Offshore oil drilling could flood coastal states with billions

A proposed federal law would direct some money from offshore oil drilling companies to coastline protection

From Correspondent Mary Pflum

GRAND ISLE, Louisiana (CNN) -- Erosion has swallowed islands, shrunk beaches and reduced the seafood catch along the Louisiana coast. Some point fingers at oil companies, which pay hefty royalty fees to drill offshore. A pending congressional bill would funnel some of the money to coastal states like Louisiana to pay for the environmental cost.

Charlie Jacobi has caught fish and shrimp in the waters off Grande Isle for years. But when he goes out on the water, he's reminded of the decline of his community.

"I've seen literally hundreds of islands disappear. Just Gone. I've seen canals widened three or four times," he said.

Levies and dams along the Mississippi River are partly to blame. The rerouting of the largest U.S. river has protected cities like New Orleans from great floods like the one in 1926.

	MESSAGE BOARD
Environmental issues

The modified waterway also has contributed to erosion along the Gulf of Mexico, which robs Louisiana annually of 35 square miles (90 square km) of coastline.

Jacobi says another major culprit is offshore oil drilling.

"They're ruining our territory really. They're digging the canals. They're ruining the beaches," he said.

The U.S. government has accumulated at least $90 billion from offshore drilling royalty fees over the past 50 years. A piece of legislation slated to go before the U.S. Senate this month, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), would designate that coastal states would receive some of the funds.

The bill, which some consider the most significant environmental legislation in years, would dedicate $40 billion over 15 years to conserve sensitive land, preserve threatened species and develop natural parks.

States with extensive offshore drilling leases -- Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, California and Alaska -- would gain the most assistance.

"This bill is not a pro-drilling bill or an anti-drilling bill. It's a revenue sharing bill. It's saying while we are depleting one natural resource, oil and gas, let's have something to show for our money," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat from Louisiana.

"Instead of just spending it on a general fund, let's redirect these monies back to environmental funds."

Among the coastal restoration plans outlined for Louisiana: Maintain and reconstruct barrier islands, divert existing rivers, protect shorelines with breakwaters and wave-damping fences.

Louisiana's coastline is eroding at the rate of 35 miles per year

"We are bearing a disproportionate burden of impacts from offshore operations. So Louisiana needs the money to offset or mitigate those impacts," said Jack Caldwell, secretary of the state Department of Natural Resources.

Critics charge that environmental damage in states like Louisiana came at their own doing. Some view the CARA bill as a way to compensate states for the effects of drilling that they encouraged.

Bill opponents also express reservations about a section that would fund onshore infrastructure projects.

"The provision will allow construction of city halls, county courthouses, roads, bridges, all sorts of things that have no environmental protection and in some cases may even damage the environment," said Mike Hardiman of the American Land Rights Association.

Canals used by the oil industry to transport materials have contaminated wetlands with salt water. Pipelines added to the problem.

"We have just over 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of pipeline laid out in the Gulf of Mexico and come to the shore of Louisiana," Caldwell said. "These pipelines have to traverse our valuable wetlands. They impact them. They actually aid in the deterioration."

How much is difficult to assess. Environmental reports estimate the oil industry contributes anywhere from 10 to 90 percent of Louisiana's wetland losses.

Gwich'in Nation fights for caribou in Alaska
August 28, 2000
Analysis: The debate over drilling in America's wildest refuge
July 4, 2000
Colombia rejects 'cultural genocide' claim, OKs oil drilling near Indian land
September 22, 1999
CARA bill nears vote in House
May 9, 2000

Hearing on H.R.701, Conservation & Reinvestment Act of 1999' and H.R.798, Resources 2000
Department of Natural Resources

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.